Struggling campaigns get peppered with process questions and have to push back against them, and that is what is happening to President Barack Obama's campaign. On Wednesday, Obama press secretary Jen Psaki had to say the campaign was "absolutely not" pulling out of Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.
Reporters asked the campaign if Obama was going to concede Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia to Romney after top Obama strategist David Plouffe implied the Obama campaign may be on the ropes in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Colorado in an interview with the National Journal
Plouffe, Obama's 2008 campaign manager, told the National Journal "Obama remains strong" and has "significant leads" in Ohio, Iowa, Nevada.
However, Plouffe "offered no such assurances" about Obama's standing in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and Colorado:
It is uncharacteristic of Team Obama to concede any terrain, but Plouffe offered no such assurances about Obama's position in North Carolina, Virginia, or Florida. Romney advisers have seen big gains in all three states and now consider wins likely, although not guaranteed, in all three. They are similarly upbeat about prospects in Colorado but not confident enough to predict victory. That Plouffe left Colorado off his list of states where Obama's leading and can withstand a Romney surge might be telling.